Shakespeare's First Folio thumbnail 1
Shakespeare's First Folio thumbnail 2
On display
Image of Gallery in South Kensington

Shakespeare's First Folio

Book
1623 (printed and published)
Artist/Maker
Blount, Edward (printer)
Iaggard, Isaac (printer)
William Shakespeare (author)
Place of origin
London (printed and published)

"To the reader," title page and introductory leaves are reprints.
Colophon: Printed at the Charges of W. Jaggard, Ed. Blount, I. Smithweeke, and W. Aspley, 1623.
First folio ed.; first issue. Includes portrait of William Shakespeare.

Object details

Categories
National Art Library
Books
Theatre
Object type
Book
TitleShakespeare's First Folio
Materials and techniques
Paper
Ink
Leather
Printing
Line Engraving
Brief description
Book, Mr. William Shakespeares comedies, histories & tragedies : published according to the true originall copies / [edited by I. Heminge and H. Condell]. London: Printed by Isaac Iaggard and Ed. Blount, 1623.
Physical description
"To the reader," title page and introductory leaves are reprints.
Colophon: Printed at the Charges of W. Jaggard, Ed. Blount, I. Smithweeke, and W. Aspley, 1623.
First folio ed.; first issue. Includes portrait of William Shakespeare.
Dimensions
  • Closed height: 325mm (Note: Approximate)
  • Closed width: 229mm (Note: Approximate)
  • Closed depth: 54mm (Note: Approximate)
Gallery label
(2022)
Re:Imagining Musicals, 15th October 2022 - 4th February 2024

Mr William Shakespeare’s Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies (First Folio)
1623
Edited seven years after his death by John Heminges and Henry Condell, members of Shakespeare’s company, the First Folio records 36 plays with 18 of them previously unprinted. Romeo and Juliet, Shakespeare’s famous tragedy, has inspired countless musicals including The Belle of Mayfair (1906), West Side Story (1957), rock-opera Bare (2000), Giulietta e Romeo (2007) and & Juliet (2018).

Printed by Isaac Jaggard and Edward Blount, London
Engraving and letterpress
Museum no. Forster 7884
Mr William Shakespeare's Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies (First Folio)
1623
Without the First Folio we would lack nearly half Shakespeare's plays. Edited seven years after his death by John Heminges and Henry Condell, members of his company, it represents a rare honour as few contemporary dramatists had their collected works published. The book contains 36 plays (omitting Pericles), 18 of them previously unprinted.
Engraving and letterpress
Printed by Isaac Jaggard and Edward Blount, London
Object history
J.C. King: given by him to John Forster on 24 August 1840 (Dedication signed: "To John Forster Esq from J.C. K[ing] Aug.24.1840."); bequeathed by John Forster in 1876 to the South Kensington Museum.
Bibliographic reference
Rasmussen, E., West, J. and Bailey, D.L, The Shakespeare first folios: a descriptive catalogue, Basingstoke, Hampshire [England] ; New York : Palgrave Macmillan, 2012. no. 26.
Other numbers
  • 38041011035060 - NAL barcode
  • KRP.C.97 - NAL Pressmark
Collection
National Art Library
Library number
Forster 7884

About this object record

Explore the Collections contains over a million catalogue records, and over half a million images. It is a working database that includes information compiled over the life of the museum. Some of our records may contain offensive and discriminatory language, or reflect outdated ideas, practice and analysis. We are committed to addressing these issues, and to review and update our records accordingly.

You can write to us to suggest improvements to the record.

Suggest feedback

Record createdApril 2, 2019
Record URL
https://collections.vam.ac.uk/item/O1486841/shakespeares-first-folio-book-blount-edward/
Download as: JSONIIIF Manifest